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{
    "id": 254779,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/254779/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 277,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Dr. Murungaru",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 227,
        "legal_name": "Christopher Ndarathi Murungaru",
        "slug": "christopher-murungaru"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise under Standing Order No.69 to make the following personal statement. On Friday, 31st March, 2006, The Standard Newspaper carried a front-page banner headline titled: \"A case to answer\". Prominently carried on the same front page were photographs of those people the Paper stated as having been recommended by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for further investigations for corruption with a view to possible prosecution. My name and photograph were amongst them. The findings of the PAC regarding those recommended for investigations appear at pages 42 to 50. The names are included in the PAC Report tabled in this House. They are in two categories: Political leaders and civil servants. My name is not amongst these. This is as it should be for the simple reason that the PAC Report is based on the Special Audit Report by the Controller and Auditor-General on the specific contract regarding Passports issuing equipment. The Office of the President, where at the material time I served as Minister of State, in charge of internal security, was not involved in this contract whatsoever. For The Standard then to state that I am one of those recommended for corruption investigations is simply to play deliberate political mischief obviously with some ulterior motive. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the same edition of The Standard proceeded to allege on page 3 that I was the one who hatched \"the Forensic Science Laboratories contract\". This is an atrocious distortion of the facts. The Forensic Science Laboratories contract was signed on 16th August, 2001. The payment of the commitment fee and execution of the promissory notes were all done in August 2001 long before January 2003 when I became Minister of State, Office of the President. How then, could Dr. Murungaru have possibly hatched the Forensic Science Laboratories contract? In any event, no such finding was made by the PAC as alleged by The Standard . Corruption is a serious issue with grave implications for the country's economy. Let no one play partisan politics with such a serious issue. In this connection, I have stated severally that the fight against corruption has been hijacked and turned into a tool for partisan agenda by political opportunists. It is in the public domain that when Britain implicated me in corruption and gave that as the reason for my visa revocation, I promptly instituted court proceedings against Britain, in which I demanded that they furnish evidence of my alleged corruption. These falsehoods by TheStandard are particularly of concern to me because faced with demands to produce evidence of corruption in court, all that Britain did was to annex newspaper cuttings including from TheStandard as evidence of corruption. Falsehoods purveyed by the media can have very damaging consequences to reputations and political careers. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, from the very beginning, I have demanded of the British, the Americans and, indeed, anyone with concrete evidence of corruption against me to make such evidence public. To date, none has been forthcoming. Once again, I reiterate this demand. The PAC Report, having been tabled in this House, is now property of the House and deliberate misrepresentation of the Report amounts to gross disrespect for the House and the dignity of hon. Members. Therefore, I plead that given the seriousness of the matter in question, Mr. Deputy Speaker, directs The Standard Newspaper to carry the necessary corrections and unconditional apologies. Thank you."
}